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US imposes ban on flavoured e-cigarettes

Geoff Riley

3rd January 2020

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A good example here of how a ban can impact on demand for a product but also lead to some possible unintended consequences.

The USA has introduced a nation-wide ban on flavoured e-cigarettes because of fears that they are leading to addictive behaviours especially among teens.

The US Food and Drug Administration is banning the sale of fruit and sweet e-cigarette pod flavours, and allowing tobacco and menthol flavours stay on the market. In some countries, such as India, sales of e-cigarettes have already been banned.

The USA also recently raised the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products (including e-cigarettes) to 21 years. Survey data published in 2018 found that teenagers in the USA were more likely to be use e-cigarettes than normal cigarettes.

In the UK, four vaping companies, including British American Tobacco (BAT), have had Instagram posts promoting e-cigarettes banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

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Geoff Riley

Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for nearly forty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD and Revision conferences in the UK and overseas.